National Clothesline

Almost overlooked during the high drama of the perc ban proposal in Southern California was the even more extreme proposal in Chicago which would have strictly outlawed perc use in the city by June of this year.

While the fight to save perc in California took place in open public forums with hundreds of cleaners turning out to protest the government’s plans, the struggle in Chicago has been behind the scenes with small groups and individuals meeting with the Chicago alderman to make the industry’s case for perc. The “quiet protest” approach appears to have been successful. It now looks like the alderman will revise his ordinance and eliminate all mentions of a ban on perc.

In both Chicago and California, it was industry trade associations that took the lead and put the brakes on government initiatives that would have placed crippling burdens on individual cleaners. Without those efforts, Chicago cleaners would be looking at replacing their perc equipment right now; cleaners in southern California would be facing a much swifter timetable for improving or removing perc equipment.

The sad part is that many of those cleaners who have been saved are not even members of the associations that saved them. Sure, times are tough and membership dues are an item that can be cut from the budget. But if a few hundred dollars in dues are unaffordable, where would thousands of dollars for new equipment fit in the budget? Think about it now. Next time, the free ride may not be there.

Dale Carnegie, the famous public speaker who wrote “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” offered up a brief summary of human nature when he said: “Any fool can criticize, condemn and complain — and most fools do.”

We are all fools. We’ll never stop complaining. The truth is, when things go awry and frustration creeps in, the best way to vent out all of our negative emotions is to speak about our problems to anybody (and sometimes everybody) who will listen. Not only does it feel better to lift the burden from our chests, it’s nice to have access to a sympathetic ear.

Smart business owners realize that complaints are a useful tool that can help them improve their business. When a customer voices a problem, it is an opportunity for the company to address the area of concern and minimize the potential threat of other disgruntled customers leaving over the same grievance. As an added bonus, the customer realizes they haven’t been taken for granted and are more likely to remain loyal.

Of course, you have an even bigger problem if your customers aren’t complaining to you. After all, if a customer complains in an empty forest and there’s nobody around to hear it, it doesn’t really help you. In truth, customers don’t complain to empty forests. They’re much more likely to contact everybody they have ever known in a single-minded attempt to decimate your customer base. That won’t help you very much, either.

If you don’t want to lose an angry customer, then simply listen to them. Don’t jump to the conclusion that they are being unreasonable. Try to understand it from their point of view. Be aware of the fact that your business isn’t perfect and apologize. Not only will you likely repair the damage, you may end up solidifying your relationship with your customer even more. (See Dennis McCrory’s column on page 64 for evidence of this.)

Nobody likes to listen to complaints. It’s no fun to be accused of incompetence. However, it’s much more costly to you if you don’t make the effort to be diplomatic. Of course, there is a flip side of the coin, as well. After listening to angry customers complain all day long, you will need to find a sympathetic ear to listen to you. The Fabricare Forum (www.groups.yahoo.com/group/fabricare) is full of drycleaners who can probably relate to your struggles. Another good place to go is a web site at www.CleanersWeb.com that offers fabricare specialists a place to share problem garment stories and daily gripes to a fellowship of their peers.

It may be true that complaining has never really solved anything, but it sure makes a person feel better, and, more often than not, it’s a great first step toward finding a solution.